Today I will guide you through one of the most beautiful parks in The Netherlands – De Braak. If you are a nature lover and photographer, this is a photographers dream. This park is one of the most unique places I have visited in the Netherlands and definitely one of the best hidden gems in the area of Amsterdam/Amstelveen.

Surrounded by the lush greenery and gorgeous flowers, it is the perfect place to spend the day outside of the busy Amsterdam.⠀

‘HEME’ Park DE BRAAK⠀

WHAT ARE HEME PARKS?⠀‘Heme’ stands for native which means that the plants are among the original wild plants of the country together with some exotic plants that are not native. ⠀

THE HISTORY OF THE PARK:The construction of the park begin in the late 1930s. The park has been made as a walking opportunity and for relaxation. In the beginning, the surface was very wet, poor and acidic, in short – not attractive to many crop. So, Dutch people decided to make use of their own native plants and De Braak became a park with species that fit wet, poor and sour peat.

WHERE?This gorgeous, a secret park, is located in the municipality of Amstelveen, 8 km from Amsterdam. Amstelveen is a charming city where many families find their home to run away from hustle and bustle of Amsterdam. ⠀

WHEN TO VISIT:⠀Anytime but spring is the best time because most of the flowers in the park are spring flowers.⠀

INTERESTING FACTS:⠀

There’s even an app about De Braak to download with all the flower explanations and striking birds such as mute swan, kingfisher etc.⠀DE BRAAK is even a national monument.⠀

OVERALL EXPERIENCE:⠀We didn’t use the app, we just walked around and enjoyed in intensive and lovely smells of flowers.⠀I would highly recommend this park to anyone who loves nature and quite places. Although, it can get noisy due to Schiphol Airport near by, but usually the birds are much more louder than anything else. 🙂⠀What are best hidden gems that you have visited and where were they⁉️⠀

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Wow, what a great find! Best hidden gems…hmmm….I’m going to go with Oradour-sur-Glane near Limoges in France. It’s super dark as it’s the site of a horrible massacre during WWII but it’s so necessary. A day-trip from the Loire Valley and just an incredible experience as the little town is preserved exactly as it was left on that dark day in 1944. For some reason, few people know of it, but they should.